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Eon, a closely held (public and family) corporation, was started by film producers Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman in 1961, at the same time they became partners and sought financing for Dr. No the year before they formed Danjaq, which for legal reasons became Eon's holding company, from which it licenses the copyright protections allowing Eon to produce the Bond films.

Broccoli had been interested in the Bond novel rights for several years but was dissuaded from pursuing the project by his former partner. When they dissolved their relationship he was free to pursue the property, for which Saltzman, a novice to film production, had taken a gamble to acquire. The two were introduced by a New York writer who was acquainted with both, and formed a partnership within a week of meeting. The enterprise was and is still a family business, including both wives of the principal partners, as well as several of their progeny, the latter group now carrying on their parents' work. Albert almost immediately included Dana Broccoli's college-aged son Michael G. Wilson in the early films, doing various production jobs. His engineering education was put to use in some of the series' special effects.

In 1975, after nine films, Harry Saltzman sold his shares of Danjaq to United Artists (the then-current series distributor). Although Albert R. Broccoli died in 1996, Eon Productions is still owned by the Broccoli family, specifically Albert R. Broccoli's daughter, Barbara Broccoli, and his stepson and her half-brother by actress Dana Wilson Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, who are the current producers of the films.

Albert R. Broccoli's name has appeared in the opening "presents" credit of every Eon-produced James Bond film, and as the first name in the credits from The Spy Who Loved Me onwards. From Dr. No through The Man with the Golden Gun, the credit was "Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman present"; for some films Saltzman came first (and still does in the film itself and/or its original posters), but all present-day printed credits have been changed to list Broccoli first. After Saltzman left, the opening credit was "Albert R. Broccoli presents" through to GoldenEye (the last film made before Broccoli's death), even after Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson replaced him as producers. On all films since Broccoli's death, the opening credit is "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions presents", with "Ltd." usually added after "Productions" in the film proper.[3]

The 1965 film Thunderball differs from the others in how it credits Saltzman and Broccoli; due to a legal agreement with Kevin McClory related to the rights to Ian Fleming's original novel, McClory received producer credit on the film, with Saltzman and Broccoli credited as executive producers. This agreement also gave McClory the rights to remake Thunderball in the future, resulting in the 1983 non-EON production, Never Say Never Again. McClory would attempt to remake the story a second time in the 1990s, but was prevented from doing so.

The copyrights and trademarks for the film properties (beginning with Dr. No) are held by Danjaq and United Artists Corporation; the latter was bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981, but as an MGM subsidiary its name still appears in Bond copyright and trademark disclaimers. Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015) were co-distributed with Columbia Pictures (which appeared along with Danjaq and United Artists in their copyright disclaimers).[4]

Other production companies were responsible for the Bond productions Casino Royale (1954), Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983); the first is a one-hour TV film produced for an anthology series and the others are feature films produced for the cinema, while Never Say Never Again was a remake of Thunderball.

In 2008, Eon signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to develop fifteen thrillers and family films outside the Bond franchise, with budgets of up to $80 million (£40 million). The company hopes the move will allow more British writers to establish themselves in the United States.[9]

Eon Productions is set to produce the upcoming adaptation of Mark Burnell's first book in the Stephanie Patrick series, titled The Rhythm Section. It will star Blake Lively and will be directed by Reed Morano, and will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.[10][11] The film is set for release on 31 January 2020.[12]